The plot concerns Grindelwald’s grasps at power in the magical world because he essentially wants to start a race war with the muggles (humans). The entire film screams “COVID protocols,” with characters relegated to running around in front of green screen backgrounds and inexplicable settings that limit the number of actors in the frame at any time. Rowling has also courted controversy online with her regressive views on gender identity, and co-star Ezra Miller has faced some legal setbacks. Embattled actor Johnny Depp, who played big bad Grindelwald, was replaced by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who is an improvement and the only actor who seems to be energized in tackling this material.
“The Secrets of Dumbledore” has been hampered by scandal and COVID-19, and it shows. Written by Rowling and frequent “Harry Potter” screenwriter Steve Kloves, and directed by David Yates, who helmed the first two Beasties and several “Potters,” it’s clear that the powers that be are trying, hard, to regain the original magic. Flappers, magic and cool animals, what’s not to like? But the third installment, “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” arriving four years after the second film, “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald,” is a bafflingly bad project that can only be described as “anti-cinema.” It has all the charm and fun of a contractual obligation, and dares to pose the question: What if an entire movie was gray?
The first film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” was an assertion of gentle humanity and diversity set in an appealingly designed 1920s New York. What a depressing descent it’s been for the “Fantastic Beasts” movies, the “Harry Potter” prequel franchise intended to expand the magical world of witches, wizards and muggles spun to life by J.K.
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